Copying this over from my LJ RP account for anyone interested in Dairine's character and history.

CHARACTER NAME: Dairine Regan Callahan FANDOM: Young Wizardry Series CANON: On transit from the Motherboard world to Rashah, during Wizards at War. WHAT THEY LOST: The necklace she made for visiting Roshaun’s parents. Usually Dairine does not wear any jewelry, but she kept this one on Roshaun’s insistence. When she transited to the Motherboard world, one of the first things she did was check to make sure she still had it. Losing the necklace now would bother her not only because of sentimental value, but also because she hasn’t fully come to terms with how important Roshaun is to her. He is her closest friend, and this necklace is her only “gift” from him.

ABOUT THE CHARACTER:

Dairine Callahan was three years old when she saw her older sister Nita cry. Nita hadn’t understood the questions at school, and her tears affected Dairine’s worldview more than anything else in her childhood. Dairine decided that the world was a dangerous place and the only way to kept from getting hurt was to know everything.

Dairine is smart and learns quickly. So she trained herself to become more perceptive. At 4, she taught herself how to read and plowed through all the reading material she could find. In fact, Dairine is sometimes too smart. She often gets in trouble for being nosy and trying things she shouldn’t.

She is not fond of school, despite her intelligence. Classes were easy, seeing as her parents were against her skipping grades (not that she cared). Social skills, though, are not Dairine’s strength. Dairine also is a geek and an avid reader, one that is brazen, stubborn, cocky, and reckless. This led to conflict with her classmates. Her only friend spread rumors behind her back, and she got beaten up fairly often. Eventually, her parents signed her up for jujutsu classes with Nita. Being a natural learner, Dairine took her lessons to heart. Bullies quickly came to fear her, but so did the rest of her peers. Dairine helped the reputation along, hoping it would keep people from bothering her about her interests. She used knowledge, acting, and fear to manipulate others into liking her. Dairine does regret her actions. She just focused on not getting hurt, and got others hurt in the process.

Later, Dairine discovered Star Wars, which hooked her completely. She saw the Force as the knowledge and power she needed. Dairine dreamed of becoming a Jedi and beating up Darth Vader, two seemingly unreachable dreams. Behind these goals was a desire to improve the world and make a difference that mattered.

Then one day, Dairine saw her sister force-fielding an attacker into the dirt. She was the only one to notice, and the event shocked her. Before then, Dairine had been very protective of her sister. She had used the rumor mill to make it clear that anyone who messed with Nita would regret it. Dairine was determined to figure out what had happened. She watched and waited for an opening. Finally, Dairine caught her sister changing back from whale-form late one night. She agreed to help distract their parents in exchange for answers.

The secret, it turned out, was wizardry: an Art so powerful it could keep entropy in check. This was exactly what Dairine had wanted all along, but the Powers that Be had to offer it. The prospect of waiting frustrated her. Instead, she snuck into Nita’s room soon after, using her wizard’s manual to take the Wizard’s Oath. The next day, Dairine’s own manual came in the shape of the new family computer.

Earlier that year, Dairine’s class had got their first computer. Being super intelligent, she quickly became skilled with it. Dairine started to become interested in advanced programming, which she called “the true hacking.” So the Powers that Be gave her the new software version of the manual.

Dairine runs off to tour the galaxy the same day, going headlong into her Ordeal. An Ordeal is a dangerous test for beginner wizards. Dairine has wanted this power so bad that she skims the Oath and rushes into her Ordeal barely prepared. So at the first sign of conflict, she panics. She programs a long-range transit to escape to a world where she can truly make a difference. Dairine ends up on a living semiconductor planet 40 trillion light years away. There she creates a species of supercomputers and gives them free reign to wizardry. But the Lone Power, inventor of death, tries to trick the mobile computers into freezing entropy and time. In a last ditch effort to stop them, Dairine connects with the planet’s Motherboard for an exchange of data. During the transfer, the entire manual gets downloaded into Dairine’s mind, effectively turning her into a mobile. She uses the data to force the Lone Power into surrendering.

After passing her Ordeal at the age of 11, Dairine became a highly sought out wizard. Being a younger wizard meant having extremely high power levels. Therefore, Dairine was able to perform large scale spells without worrying about the cost. She mostly worked off planet, wherever she was needed. This was the height of her wizardry.

But large breakthroughs mean large falls. In autumn, Dairine’s power levels steeply dropped. Dairine worried that she’ll lose them entirely. Just when she starts feeling powerless, her mother ends up the hospital with a life threatening illness. Dairine has to wait it out because she can’t do anything except little spells. She just watches as Nita tries to save their mom. The effort fails.

Her mother’s death devastates Dairine. She was much closer to her mom than her dad. Dairine feels that she failed her mother, and loses confidence in herself and her wizardry. In her grief, she skips school regularly and avoids contact with others. Eventually she agrees to stop skipping, through only for her family’s sake. Through her family’s support, Dairine gets back on her feet.

Around this time, Dairine’s begins testing her new power limits. She is a mediator between organic and inorganic species. Her connection with Spot, her manual, has become progressively stronger. Eventually, she ends up pushing the boundary too far when she signs up for a galactic cultural exchange… without telling her father. The Power that Be ground her to the Sol System, and she is stuck at home to take care of the visiting wizards. This gives her more bonding time with her dad. Dairine likes her visitors except for Roshaun, prince of Wellakh. He is too much like her: blunt, self-centered, arrogant, and hides his emotions well behind a mask of indifference. Still, she honestly tries to keep her frustration to herself. She’s become slightly more mature and mellow. When Earth suddenly is in danger, Dairine works in a team for the first time to solve the problem. She uses her intelligence in place of raw power. The crisis pushes Dairine past her initial opinion of Roshaun. They gain mutual respect for each other and become friends.

Before the exchange program is over, Senior Wizards visit with some terrifying news. Newly discovered dark matter is expanding at an accelerated rate, which will push the universe apart if not stopped. The burden of fixing the issue is placed on young wizards. Dairine is let off her restriction, and immediately decides to visit the Motherboard with Roshaun. She is worried because Spot has started having memory lapses. After a short trip to Wellakh, they head out to the Edge to see if the mobiles can find a solution to the dark matter problem. Once there, Dairine is overwhelmed and proud of the accomplishments of her mobiles. With their help, she finds data hidden in both her and Spot’s memory. This information describes the Instrumentality, the key to stopping the expansion. Realizing the urgency, Dairine hurries to get the information back to the rest of the group. During the transit, Paradisa snags her, and so starts the fun.

THIRD-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE:

Dairine stared at her bedroom ceiling, unblinking and unseeing. Barely hours before, she had been on another world, one many trillions of light years away. The fact was hitting her full force now that things had calmed down. Everything she had ever wanted to do, to achieve, she had done in a weekend’s time. She had toured the galaxy, interacted with alien intelligences, and even created her own civilization. She had made a difference.

Even now that she was home, the adventure wouldn’t stop. Afterimages swam in Dairine’s vision, a whirl of binary mixed with trinary data. Her manual (Spot, she had named him Spot) said these were effects of her download, transforming part of her mind into a computer.

Honestly, she didn’t mind. The machine in her was part of her just as much what she was born with. And she didn’t care what happened, as long as wizardry helped her make the universe work properly.

Or so she had thought before this. This mindless numbness that was the stark opposite of the rushing hum of trinary in her brain. Once again, Dairine stared at her ceiling, unable to see it through tears.

Her mother was gone. Dairine couldn’t save her. Dairine couldn’t help at all.

FIRST-PERSON WRITING SAMPLE:

Well, this is brilliant. First I get grounded to the Sol System, then I get stuck on a completely unknown planet? This is just my month, isn’t it. Note to self: never tick off the Powers again. Ever.And to whatever is responsible for this… this… relocation, I’m supposed to be saving the universe right now. You know, the one I live in? Couldn’t the kidnapping have waited for a more convenient time?! Hope you’re a fast runner, poor sod!

INTENT:

Dairine really drew me into the Young Wizards series. She’s tough, smart, confident, and snarky. Her character seemed almost larger than life at first, until the books turned to her perspective. Then I realized that Dairine has a mess of emotions behind that strong mask, and I just loved her more. She’s a good kid, but it doesn’t always show.

Paradisa wouldn’t faze Dairine as greatly as other newcomers. She is no stranger to odd occurrences and magic. Her experience with extraterrestrial and inorganic life-forms makes her more open to diversity. Still, making friends isn’t a natural talent of hers. Connecting with others would be challenge, but once she did Dairine would be a loyal and protective friend.

However, losing control of her situation would be hard on her. She’s stubborn and hates feeling powerless. Plus, Dairine is already under stress from her mother’s death and the impending destruction of the universe that she has to save. Paradisa would only be adding to it.